Nikon TC-14E (~£200, very good optics though may have to grind off metal tab to fit MF/early AF lenses?)

Sigma TC-1401 (~£210, slightly sharper in center than TC-14E - where it counts)

Olympus MC-14 (~£230, no clearance issues once NF-µ43 adapter fitted)

There's very little in price between the modern optics, and as much as I'd like a bargain I suspect I'd just be disappointed with the old film lenses. I suppose really the choice is between the newest Sigma and the Oly.
I've read various complaints about mixing Sigma and Nikon lenses/TCs but this always concerns AF which is of no concern to me.
Perhaps swinging in the Oly's favour is the lack of clearance problems with SLR lenses which makes it most adaptable for some curious combinations (plus I could use it with Oly's Pro lenses if I ever have a couple of spare grand - unlikely!). My largest concern is with it being so specifically designed with just two lenses in mind, how will it perform with random vintage glass designed for film plonked in front of it?

As a special, matched TC, there is a good chance the MC-14 will not work with anything else. The design uses elements that protrude into the lens in order to get better performance. You may not even be able to mount your adapter on it. I would go with something that has wide compatibility for the best odds.

All these TCs protrude but the Nikon to µ43 adapter needed for the Oly model would give any lens an extra 25mm of clearance:{}
This looks like it should be enough to prevent any issues, especially when the target lenses should clear the equally protruding adapted TCs which will mount on the lens side of this adapter.

hmmm no consideration that the MC14 might actually have been engineered only to work optimally with certain lenses? Oh lets say current pro level olympus lenses.... maybe the 40-150 and the 300.. actually the only lenses that Olympus care about.. because those are the lenses they make money with.

My guess would be that the best result would be the TC for the lens you are converting... not the sensor you are aiming at

hmmm no consideration that the MC14 might actually have been engineered only to work optimally with certain lenses? … My guess would be that the best result would be the TC for the lens you are converting... not the sensor you are aiming at

Click to expand...

This was exactly my line of thinking; the photo above was just to explain why I'm not worried about mechanical coupling for the Oly TC.

A quick look at the backs of my >50mm lenses suggests that a Nikon mount TC is not going to fit the 85mm, maybe the 135mm, not the 200mm, sadly not the 180mm (it would if I upgraded to the later IF model), it would fit the mirror lens with the flat rear element removed (though it's not sharp enough to bother with), but definitely on the 300mm:{}

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